OFSTED
Latest inspection
19 May 2026
Latest published outcome
Met
Renewed framework
Safeguarding
Met
Inclusion
Strong standard
Curriculum & teaching
Strong standard
Achievement
Strong standard
Attendance & behaviour
Strong standard
Personal development
Strong standard
Leadership & governance
Strong standard
INSPECTION HISTORY
Previous Ofsted activity
22 March 2022
Graded inspection
Good
Published
25 May 2022
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Free schools
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Local authority
Brighton and Hove
Trust
RUSSELL EDUCATION TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics
for 2025/26.
2025/26
Total pupils
925
925 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
468
50.6% of pupils
Male pupils
457
49.4% of pupils
5.4 pts
below England
School
19.4%
Brighton and Hove
23.4%
South East
19.0%
England
24.8%
0.0 pts
in line with England
School
20.3%
Brighton and Hove
14.8%
South East
15.6%
England
20.3%
0.9 pts
below England
School
0.1%
Brighton and Hove
1.1%
South East
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
Any other White background
8.9%
82
Any other ethnic group
5.4%
50
Any other Mixed background
4.8%
44
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an
education, health and care plan.
2025/26
Pupils with SEN
27.9%
258 of
925 pupils
7.1 pts
above England
England:
20.8%
SEN support
22.5%
208 pupils
England
14.8%
7.7 pts
above
EHC plans
5.4%
50 pupils
England
6.0%
0.6 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Most common identified needs
Pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder
96
Specific learning difficulty
66
Social, emotional & mental health
35
Speech, language & communication
21
Other difficulty or disability
17
SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published
2025/26 Department for Education school-level data.
Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support
and pupils with EHC plans.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education
absence data for
2024/25.
Lower absence rates are generally
better.
2024/25
ABSENCE RATE
Overall absence
6.72%
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
0.50 pts
higher than
England
School
6.72%
Brighton and Hove
7.09%
South East
6.30%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
Persistent absence
17.43%
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
1.61 pts
higher than
England
School
17.43%
Brighton and Hove
18.77%
South East
15.75%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
Severe absence
2.28%
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
0.47 pts
higher than
England
School
2.28%
Brighton and Hove
2.28%
South East
1.93%
England
1.80%
Council, regional and national
comparisons are averages of published
school-level percentages rather than
pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
School context
Comparison with open
secondary schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
88.1%
4.2 pts
below England
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.